A conventional combination padlock as shown in FIG. 5 comprises a plurality of dials D pivotally mounted on a shackle S, each dial D being perpendicular to an axis A of one leg of the shackle S, which however may have some drawbacks as follows:
1. When it is intended to open such a padlock, the locking end of shackle S should be pulled upwardly and then rotated in direction R around the axis A to remove the padlock from a staple such as mounted on a door frame, causing an inconvenient operation therefor.
2. All dials D are perpendicular to the shackle S so that the lock casing can not be made so slim, thereby still requiring a big space for its handling and storage.
The present inventor has found such drawbacks and invented the present planarly-operating combination padlock to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.